Compare Business Electricity Prices

Between September 1998 and September 1999 the electricity market in the UK was fully deregulated. This means that any business in the UK can now choose to buy their electricity from a number of different suppliers.

The suppliers include the Regional Electricity Companies but also include other players such as Centrica (which used to be the monopoly provider, British Gas), direct sellers and affinity deals through supermarket chains and even finance companies. In theory, this competition means savings, as each supplier tries to capture the largest stake in the UK by offering the best deals.

Why should I consider switching supplier?

Switching supplier to cheaper business electric and gas rates and getting the cheapest prices is one of the best ways to reduce your business costs.

The difference in price is due to the transmission costs the 14 regional electricity boards charge to business electricity suppliers for distribution across the National Grid. Of course, you can't relocate your business just to take advantage of lower costs so what else can make a difference to the amount you pay for your electricity?

As in many areas, companies are anxious to attract new customers and they are offered significantly lower prices than renewing customers. This makes comparing electricity prices and switching suppliers once a year is a good habit to get into. Because suppliers tend not to offer their longstanding customers the same low prices as new customers, it makes sense to compare business electricity prices regularly and switch if you can find a better deal.

Other factors that will influence your electricity prices are:

• the length of contract you are prepared to sign
• the preferred payment method
• your company credit score
• your annual consumption and your meter profile.
• management software to deal with energy efficiency and conservation.

Essential things to know

Businesses are usually tied into a contract with their current supplier. It is essential for you to know the current state of your contract.

Knowing in advance when your renewal window opens, you can set up reminder and use a standard termination letter to guarantee your right to switch. This opportunity may only last one week before you are tied into another contract.

Businesses that use more electricity can benefit from bulk prices so you should also know your usage rate. If it is high, this can be used as leverage with the supply companies, all anxious to get your business.

How to get Help on the Internet - using Brokers and Agents

The large number of variables in the supply of electricity leads to some complex business electricity price tariffs from suppliers. There are thousands of different tariffs for businesses making it very difficult and time-consuming task to compare electricity prices on a regular basis to keep ahead of the latest deals.

Electricity prices charged to a business can be as much as four times that charged to an identical business depending on how well the contract was negotiated.

Some of the complexity can be avoided by using online services, such as the Business Electricity Price Checker at makeitcheaper.com. The calculator on their site makes it easy to compare prices and will show how much a business is paying for its electricity compared to other businesses with the same postcode.

Brokers, such as Energy Partners, claim to be independent business energy brokers, free of supplier influence, and have a unique way of negotiating the supply of electricity to small and medium sized businesses in the UK. Energy Partners aggregates the purchasing volume of smaller businesses, these increased volumes are 'leveraged' to achieve greater economies of scale resulting in discounts which are passed on to each business. In effect, many small businesses are turned into one large one, as far as the supplier is concerned, and volume discounts can be negotiated.

Brokers of this kind can also take much of the hassle out of switching suppliers by providing a dedicated account manager to deal with a wide range of recurring issues such as bill validation and account reconciliation, the VAT and Climate Change Levy, tariff analyses and budget forecasts, contractual dispute, provide automatic meter reading and energy